This file is a collection of
various messages having a common theme that I have collected from my reading of
the various computer networks. Some messages date back to 1989, some may be as
recent as yesterday.

This file is part of a collection of files called Stefan's
Florilegium. These files are available on the Internet at:
http://www.florilegium.org

I have done a limited amount of
editing. Messages having to do with separate topics were sometimes split into
different files and sometimes extraneous information was removed. For instance,
the message IDs were removed to save space and remove clutter.

The comments made in these
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Please respect the time and
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<<< I have never heard of Saba. I
have heard of Sabra. The cheapest place online called
"WineChateau" has Sabra for $27.69 before shipping. I have
never used the place, so I don't know how reliable it is. BevMo has
Sabra, but for almost the same price that you quote.

Sorry.

Huette >>>

Sabra is a brand (I think Israeli); if you go to
the WineChateau site you'll see chocolate and coffee liqueurs.

Saba is the same thing as Sapa, which is a modern
(probably very old) descendant of Roman wine reductions and/or wine made from
semi-dried, grape concentrate, like defrutum, etc.

Basically a thick. sweet, grape
syrup...

Adamantius (who still has an old bottle
of Sapa from Sahadi's in Brooklyn)

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:30:41 -0500

From: "Terry Decker"
<t.d.decker at att.net>

To: "Cooks within the SCA"
<sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Saba

I think he means sapa, which is condensed
wine must used in Roman cookery.

The only Saba I know is an island in
the Netherland Antilles.

Bear

Date: Sat, 19 Jun 2010 20:52:59 -0700

From: David Walddon <david at
vastrepast.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA
<sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Saba

Bear,

Yes I mean Sapa and Saba.

Spelled both ways.

Eduardo

On 6/19/10 6:30 PM, "Terry Decker"
<t.d.decker at att.net> wrote:

<<< I think he means sapa, which is
condensed wine must used in Roman cookery.

The only Saba I know is an island in the
Netherland Antilles.

Bear >>>

Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:52:03 +0000

From: CHARLES POTTER
<basiliusphocas at hotmail.com>

To: <sca-cooks at
lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Saba

<<< Does anyone have a source for
relatively cheap Saba?

The cheapest I can seem to find it for is $36.50
for 500 ml.

Going into the summer season I need to replenish.

Eduardo >>>

Just boil down some good red
grape juice by 2/3rds or until you get it as thick as you want it. You
will have to lower the heat and stir more often as it starts to get thick or it
will burn. May take a while , but is a lot cheaper this way.

Master
B

Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 06:48:18 -0500

From: "Terry Decker"
<t.d.decker at att.net>

To: "Cooks within the SCA"
<sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] Saba

What is the language of origin for
saba? Sapa is Latin and refers to a more

highly condensed defrutum. From
Google, I gather sapa may show up in ethnic

In Riley's "The Oxford Companion
to Italian Food" the entry is under Saba.

It reads -

SABA, SAPA (grape must). See MUSTO
COTTO, MUST.

There is no entry under Sapa.

Florio also uses the word Saba.

It reads -

Saba, new wyne sodden, which we call
cute, which they use to season meates

with.

He also has an entry for Sapa.

It reads -

Sapa, a kinde of sodden wine or cute,
used also for a kinde of sauce.

(interestingly the next entry is
"Sapadore, a sillibube made of wine and

milke." Anyone have an extant
Italian recipe for this?)

Eduardo

Date: Sun, 20 Jun 2010 21:28:51 -0700

From: David Walddon <david at
vastrepast.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA
<sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: [Sca-cooks] More on Saba

I have achieved Saba!

So Master B suggested boiling down
grape juice.

Great idea but I was not really
interested in concord saba.

So I stopped at the wine store.

Purchased 10 Liters of Chianti juice
concentrate.

Which when re-constituted makes 23
Liters juice.

I boiled down the concentrate (I hope
to have around 6 to 7 liters), but it

is thick and syrupy.

And it tastes exactly like the
$36.00/16 ounce bottle.

Thanks for the idea Master B.

Eduardo

Date: Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:09:05 -0700
(PDT)

From: Raphaella DiContini
<raphaellad at yahoo.com>

To: Cooks within the SCA
<sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>

Subject: Re: [Sca-cooks] More on Saba

<<< I'm assuming that both this Chianti
juice concentrate and

the resulting saba and the period saba, are all
alcohol

free, since they haven't fermented, correct?

I'm also imagining that one of the reasons to
concentrate

the juice was to keep it from fermenting. One of
the few

ways they probably had to keep a fruit juice from

fermenting. >>>

It's my understanding that the
culinary purpose of Saba is it's unique flavor, rather like the use of
verjuice, although the flavor is different. I'm not sure how to describe it as
I could say it's "like" a few different things, but it wouldn't
capture it. If you've never had an Italian dish flavored with Saba, I'd
_highly_ recommend the experience. One of the Scappi recipes for greens was so
delicious that even all the kids in camp hoovered it! You know it's good when
you've got 4-12 year olds asking for more green veggies!